Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

NYAME, E.K.

(b 1927, Kwahu, Ghana; d 1977) Composer, singer, guitarist; the most popular guitar-band leader in Ghana. Self-taught; first played with amateur groups, clerking in his day job. He wanted to modernize highlife, the national style, introducing notation, training of musicians; he formed his own group in 1950 including guitars, clips, bongos, drums and string bass; formed Akan Trio '52 for concert parties (African comic theatre) with the band entertaining the audience before and after performances with highlifes, ragtimes, calypsos. He toured Liberia with Prime Minister Nkrumah, playing at state functions; the succcess of the tour and the trio's growing popularity at home enabled him to turn pro full-time. The concert parties were initially in English, but Twi became standard. He had begun recording in '51 after success with his song 'Small Boy Nye Me Bra', during the next two decades made a phenomenal 400 singles on Decca, Queenophone, HMV, Skanaphone. His biggest hits included 'Menia Agya Meni Na' and 'Maye Maye Meni Aye'; he continued to innovate in the guitar-band context and to develop highlife. He remade some of his most popular tunes mid-'70s on LP Sankofa ('Go Back And Retrieve'). On his sudden death he was given a state funeral for which over 10,000 turned out. His longtime associate and friend Kobina Okine (1924-85) composed memorable highlifes including the classic 'Tetteh Quashie'.